The present invention relates generally to the field of resource allocation and more specifically to the configuration of floating node boundaries on a multi-node server.
Within multi-node server architectures, the node is defined as a unit of hardware with a processor; memory; and internally and externally connected IO devices. Multiple units of such hardware are interconnected with inter-node cables (e.g., SMP cables). Within server architectures, the workloads (i.e., the amount of processing that the computer has been given to do at a given time) can be hosted on a virtualization layer as multiple partitions or as a virtual machine which is installed directly on hardware rather than within the host operating system (OS). The virtual machine which is installed directly on hardware rather than within the host operation is referred to as “bare metal.” The “bare metal” has the operating system running directly on top of the hardware portion.
Not all virtualization layers and server hardware support nested virtualization. Also, server hardware supports several different types of virtualization layers and workloads which are built to work on certain virtualization layers due to the usage of interfaces provided by the virtualization layer. (Power hardware can support PowerVM and Power KVM as the virtualization layer). However, it is possible to run both PowerVM and PowerKVM simultaneously on the same hardware each using their own dedicated resources. Virtual machines are deployed such that they do not cross the hard partitions boundaries. Customers can purchase cells (or physical nodes) in order to upgrade to more resources. The hard partitioning concept requires the cells to be electrically isolated, the granularity of resources to be allocated to a virtual machine is at a cell level, and physical node boundaries which restrict the flow of data. Embodiments of the inventions host multiple hypervisors simultaneously without having a constraint of restricting within a physical node boundary.
There are known methods to manage diverse hypervisors running on different servers via transparent communication; to emulate a data center network on a single physical host by creating multiple virtual hypervisors and virtual machine on a base hypervisor; to migrate one such virtual hypervisor along with the virtual machines to a destination base hypervisor and continue to maintain a nested hypervisor configuration; to stitch two physical nodes in a SMP system with multiple nodes; and reducing the functionality of the hosted hypervisor and install multiple nested hypervisors on top of the hosted hypervisors. There is a need for utilizing a floating node boundary to host multiple hypervisors simultaneously within a multi-node server; utilizing a server plan in conjunction with the floating node boundary; and managing multiple hypervisors running in the same system with a single service processor.